Abstract

Reverse Engineering is a method of copying a technology which begins with an existing

product and works backward to figure out how it does what it does. It focused on the challenging
task of understanding legacy program code without having suitable documentation. It plays an
important role in generating and modifying CAD model, especially for the creation of 3D CAD
model of sculptured surface. The reverse engineering process involves three main elements
which are data acquisition, data manipulation and CAD model generation. For the data
acquisition, hardware is required in order to obtain the data from the part. Whilst for the data
manipulation and CAD model generation, software is essentially required. Currently, there is a
number of hardware and software is available in the market, some of them will be introduced and
utilized in this lab.
The purpose of this lab is to study the effect of different scaling point factors to the
quality of the CAD model generated. The larger the percentage of the point clouds set, more
points are collected by a 3D scanner which to be aligned to a shape of the object scanned. The
larger the percentage of point cloud set, the more points is being collected by 3D scanner, and
thus, the longer time it consumes to collect the points.
The object that had been chosen is propeller. We were assigned with different scaling
point factor which are 100%, 90%, 80%, 70% and 60% each. From these 5 percentages of point
clouds, the CAD surface model for each factor will be created by using surface reconstruction
technique and finally converted to CAD solid model. The differences between these 5 CAD
models generated are observed.

Introduction
Reverse engineering is the general process of analyzing a technology specifically to
discover how it was designed and operates. This kind of inquiry engages individuals in a
constructive learning process about the operation of systems and products. The process of taking
something apart and revealing the way in which it works is often an effective way to learn how
to build a technology or make improvements to it. In the computer-aided design area, reverse
engineering has been a common method to glean the design experience and knowledge attached
to the existing products.

Diagram 1: Propeller

Diagram 2: Schematic diagram of reverse engineering using 3D scanning technology

Reverse engineering is commonly used:
1. As a learning tool
2. As a way to make new compatible products that are cheaper than what's currently on the
market.
3. For making software inter-operate more effectively or to bridge different operating
systems or databases.
4. To uncover the uncoordinated features of commercial products.
In this reverse engineering laboratory, the part that we are going to reverse engineer is a propeller
blade using a 3D scanner. To obtain the information of all the sides of the parts, multiple scans
from different directions are required. The 3D scanner is also used to create point cloud of
geometric samples on the part surface. In order to reverse engineer the product, there is some
difficulty that we faced especially when closing up the surface of the mesh of the product.
CATIA software is used to convert the scan into 3D CAD model. After the discussion with the
technician in charged, we decided to choose the part in Figure 1 to be reverse engineered. This is
because the product is symmetrical and has corresponding similar part.